Bute was brillant last night

Kessler's boxing skill has completely unraveled. He used to be a boxer capable of dominating a fight with his jab and ring presence, that Kessler could trouble the southpaw with his laser like right hand. Against Froch he appeared little more than a tough man ploughing forward. Although Froch is awkward obviously.

That ain't going to get it done against Bute, he'll just pick him off with his unorthodox counters, probably stop him as he comes in with uppercuts. Too fast, too southpaw, too accurate, too fresh, no way Kessler wins that.

And well, Froch just hasn't got the talent to mix it with guys like Bute and Ward IMO. It's alright against the Abraham's who are punchbags but Johnson and Taylor who are by no means top notch showed his limits.

 

Impressive by Bute. Although he could have let his hands go a little more and really make a statement. Anyhow, I would take Bute over Froch and Kessler. Not sure about Ward yet but will think about it when the time comes.........

 

And consistent head movement and feints

 

Don't get me wrong, I can see Kessler has faded quite a bit from his peak but there were signs in that comeback fight, fair enough only vs. a guy just made for him to put a show on against, that his decline wasn't as sharp as I'd previously thought. The jab looked accurate, he followed it nicely with the right hand and on the whole put some nice combinations together.

Doing that vs Bute could lead to a good deal of success for him IMO. He's open for lead rights from orthodox fighters and is susceptible to body punching which is probably the only thing that Kessler impressed me with vs Froch. I'd also venture to say Kessler would be able to impose his jab in a fight with Bute. I could definitely see him winning it.

But I suppose that's all guesswork til we see him in with a real test. The Stieglitz fight is one that, unlike most others, I could see causing Kessler problems and if he was to look poor in that then obviously talk of him beating Bute would seem a bit over the top. But as I say after the Ward & Froch performances, I doubted Kessler's ability to live with the top guys any longer so I think a Stieglitz fight might act as a good barometer of where he's at.

 

i think ward gives bute problems. Bute beats froch no doubt.

 

Did you really think Kessler's jab was accurate? I thought it was mediocre, but then again Froch is a big guy and leans back a lot so it probably was tough to land. I suppose his jab to the body was okay. But really the only thing I thought Mikkel did well was punch to the body and show heart and strength, boxing wise it was unimpressive and certainly doesn't inspire me with confidence that he can do anything but plough forward and hope for the best against the sharper, fresher Bute. I think Lucien is just horrible for him.

I'm not sure Stieglitz is much of a gauge, he's a European stiff type fighter. Don't get me wrong he's alright in a B class type of way but he doesn't match up well with a guy like Kessler. Or anyone good, but Kessler inparticular. He enjoys straight forward basic guys.

 

I think Kesslers style has it's limits, as well as him being past his physical prime. Against Ward he was in there with a stylistic nemesis to a stiff mid-range ring general, as he was when he fought Calzaghe.

Against Froch I felt he made an educated adjustment to Frochs awkward mid-range boxing, stepped in and punched more often and outworked Froch downthe stretch to take a hard-earned victory over a tough and brave foe who pushed him all the way. Froch is class IMO, with same-day weigh-in's this would be another great LHW era, as it is it's the best era for the weight so far IMO, without one guy utterly dominating it or the champions never unifying/having their best success late on.

A bunch of guys near their best beating their primes out of each other. Except Ward, who's looked pretty much infallible. Really hope Bute fights the Suoer Six winner some time next year, would round things off nicely.

 

Sorry I think you misunderstood me, I was talking about the comeback fight vs that Bouala or whatever he's called. I thought he looked sharper there though admittedly the standard of opposition was poor. I actually had Froch up by 2 vs Kessler in one of them close fights which could have gone either way yet it was a worrying performance IMO by him. As you said, it was his heart & body punching which got him through really.

Regarding Stieglitz as a gauge, my thinking behind that was just that if he struggles with him which I consider a good possibility, it would be premature to put Kessler's name straight back into the hat for fights with the top guys. Stieglitz is just a class below the 2 Super 6 finalists and Bute so I think Kessler would need to put together a convincing performance if he wants to get a fight with the top guys. Anything less and people will consider him as over the hill in all likelihood.

 

Duke?

 

Might be because, outside of Kessler, he's fought barely anyone of note. It's easy to look infallible when no one's pushing you.

 

Bute would pose serious problems to Ward. He's too sneaky and sharp a puncher for Ward to handcuff. Not to mention his slickness on D. I think he'd hurt Ward at some point.

 

I've said for a while now Bute and Ward are the best in the division and will prove so, so far so good